About this election
Alongside the 2020 general election on 17 October 2020, New Zealanders voted in two referendums on questions of personal freedom and end-of-life choice. The first asked whether the End of Life Choice Act 2019, legalising assisted dying for the terminally ill, should come into force — a binding referendum. The second asked whether to legalise and regulate the recreational use of cannabis under a proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill — a non-binding referendum. The euthanasia measure passed comfortably; the cannabis measure was narrowly defeated. Official results were released on 6 November 2020 after special votes were counted.
The two referendums were legally different. The euthanasia vote was binding: a majority in favour meant the End of Life Choice Act would automatically take effect twelve months later, with no further parliamentary action required. The cannabis vote was non-binding (advisory): a "yes" would have required Parliament to pass enabling legislation, which it could have amended or declined to pass. Both were decided by a simple majority of valid votes. They were held on the same ballot papers as the general election, which is why turnout — 82.2% — matched the record general-election figure.
Voters were asked: "Do you support the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force?" The Act, a private member's bill promoted by ACT leader David Seymour and passed by Parliament in 2019, permits a person with a terminal illness likely to end their life within six months to request assisted dying, subject to safeguards and the sign-off of two doctors. The proposal was approved by 65.9% of valid votes to 34.1% — 1,893,290 votes in favour and 979,079 against. As a binding vote, the result meant the Act came into force on 7 November 2021, making New Zealand one of a small group of countries to legalise assisted dying.
Voters were asked whether they supported the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which would have legalised the purchase, possession and cultivation of recreational cannabis for those aged 20 and over, with a regulated and taxed market. The measure was narrowly rejected: 48.4% in favour and 50.7% against on the official count — 1,406,973 votes for and 1,474,635 against, a margin of fewer than 68,000 votes. The closeness of the result, on a question that had divided opinion sharply, meant the campaign continued to be debated long after polling day; because the vote was advisory, the existing prohibition remained in place.
The cannabis referendum had its origins in the 2017 confidence-and-supply agreement between Labour and the Greens, which committed the government to holding a public vote on the issue. The euthanasia referendum was a condition attached to the passage of Seymour's Act. Holding both alongside a general election maximised participation and kept the cost low, but it also meant the campaigns competed for attention with the contest for government. The split outcome — a clear "yes" to assisted dying and a narrow "no" to legal cannabis — was widely read as a snapshot of a socially liberal but cautious electorate.
The End of Life Choice Act took effect on 7 November 2021, and assisted dying became a regulated part of New Zealand's health system, subject to ongoing review. The defeat of the cannabis proposal ended, for the time being, the prospect of a legal recreational market, though debate over decriminalisation and drug-law reform continued. Together the two votes stood as a notable example of New Zealand's periodic use of direct democracy to settle questions of conscience.
Electoral Commission of New Zealand — official results at electionresults.govt.nz.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.